Vocation and the Dignity of Work
Rev. Dr. James Childs
Joseph A. Sittler Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary & Contributor to Journal of Lutheran Ethics
Labor Day honors the dignity of all work and its contributions to the common good. It is a fitting time to reflect on the dignity and contributions of work in relation to our vocation as Christians.
Baptism is our ordination to the vocation of witness and service for the gospel. Luther’s teaching of the priesthood of all believers asserted that not only clergy but all God’s people have a God-given vocation (1 Peter 2:9-10). This was a great breakthrough of the Reformation. The various occupations of life, our work, are venues for living out this calling. This gives the idea of the dignity of work even greater depth of meaning for Christians.
Our witness and service in and through our work life is a witness of love that reflects God’s love for all people at the heart of the gospel. It is a vocation of self-giving servanthood, following our Lord’s example (Philippians 4:5-11; Matthew 20:25-28). Work in the commitment of servanthood contributes to the needs of others: providing for the needs of one’s family but also providing resources and services that others need. Work in itself is good, but seen in the context of vocation, it points beyond itself to the good of our neighbors, near and far. For some, work can be exciting and fulfilling; and for others it can be exhausting, harshly competitive, or un-rewarding. But for all, it finds its true meaning when seen as a servant of our vocation.
The love to which we are called embodies an ethic that takes us, in life and at work, beyond the moral minimum of “do no harm.” Love is a creative force that seeks the neighbor’s good.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul lists some of the virtues of love. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.”
It is not hard to understand how simple kindness in the workplace toward one’s fellow workers or in the treatment of clients or customers can create a warmer or more welcoming situation that contributes to a greater sense of wellbeing for all concerned. Unlike arrogance or the drive to always have it your way—a cynical belief that we’re all out only for number one—love is respectful of and concerned for those we encounter in work life.
To be sure, some occupations and businesses can be fiercely competitive, and it is not wrong to try one’s best to succeed. However, one can do so without making it one’s ultimate goal to the neglect of other higher values. One can do so without denigrating others and with the conviction that success can also enable you to better help others.
In the ethics of love, all are the concern of love; there are no exceptions. Underlying this radical inclusivity is the fact that all are created in the image of God and redeemed by God in Christ. This God-given equality is the foundation for love’s commitment to justice.
Justice can simply mean fairness in the treatment of workers or honesty in the representation and sale of products and services. Justice can also mean standing up against practices of racism or sexism or other “isms” that deny people their full rights and opportunities. We are in a time when businesses’ policies of equality and inclusivity have come under attack. In whatever way this dispute works out at the level of policy, individual Christians can provide examples of accepting and affirming all without prejudice. In so doing, we bear witness to the gospel promise that in Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; the things that divide us are eclipsed by unity in Christ (Galatians 3:28).
While work is a venue for each of us to express our Christian vocation in whatever ways possible, the institutional church in its various expressions has a vocation to support workers of every kind.
The labor movement we commemorate was about justice: fair wages and good working conditions. While workplace safety has improved (e.g., the work of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the wealth gap in our society is huge, raising serious questions about fair wages once more, and the working conditions of some low wage jobs remain a serious concern. As these concerns come to light in the course of the church’s mission and ministry, the church can advocate for change in both the business and economic sectors.
For many in the world of work, the job may require agonizing choices between conflicting demands that challenge one’s moral convictions. Pastors and teachers of the church, schooled in ethics, can walk with people in this kind of struggle and provide a pastoral presence along the way.
Artificial intelligence is now on everyone’s mind. We fear it will eliminate jobs. We worry that it will be used for even more lethal weapons of war. Some say it will help workers by eliminating routine time-consuming jobs. Others say that AI’s efficiencies will create pressure to do even more than before. Teachers and professors struggle to see how students can use AI benefits without compromising their own initiative, honesty, and critical thinking. We are only beginning to see the overall impact of AI, its pros and cons, but its importance means that the church should be engaged in understanding it and its impact on lives.
All work, whether exciting or stifling, rewarding or exhausting, professional practice, private business, or public service, is woven into the fabric of our social and political lives. Therefore, as Christians at work model love and service rather than selfish ambition, generosity rather than greed, fairness rather than discrimination, and making use of resources for the common good, they bear witness to Christ’s self-giving love and God’s love that can leaven the culture of work and society. That is our vocation in the gospel.